Top 5 Takeaways from the Light WELLography

1. Varying frequencies across the light spectrum impact the body in different ways.
Frequencies in the visible spectrum stimulate photoreceptors in the eye helping to form images and align the body’s physiological activities while higher frequency radiation in the infrared part of the spectrum can be felt as “heat” on the skin. Higher still, some frequencies, like X-rays, can be used in medical imaging technology to get a glimpse of the body. Refresh your memory on the basics of light in the Properties of Light section of the WELLography.

2. Your “internal clock” coordinates essential bodily functions.
Humans, like many other mammals, operate on an approximately 24-hour day, this is called circadian rhythm.

4. Power down your devices before bed.
Light exposure at night, especially blue light from screens, signals the body that it is daytime, inducing daytime physiology like alertness, elevated heart rate, and increased body temperature.

5.Pay attention to what time of day you’re eating.
As day-active animals, we metabolize food better during the day compared to the night. Eating at night will cause higher glucose, insulin and fat levels in the blood compared to when eating the same meal during the day.

5. Dying in the dark: sunshine, gender and outcomes in myocardial infarction. Beauchemin, Kathleen M and Hays, Peter. 7, London : Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, 1998, Vol. 91, pp. 352-354. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9771492.Lockley, Steven W and Foster, Russell G. Sleep: A Very Short Introduction. New York : Oxford University Press, 2012. https://books.google.com/books/about/Sleep_A_Very_Short_Introduction.html?id=iYI3GLTHzAUC